Last week we had some beautifully inspiring people visiting the Osa to learn about the regenerative projects that have been going on in this bioregion. The visit was a learning journey to sense if and how collaboration between the regenerative organizations they represent and our projects might evolve. One of the organizations that were represented are specialized in the Story of Place and since one of our projects is creating a new Story of Place for the Osa it was quite synchronistic. As we are developing a story that leads this bioregion to an even more flourishing future in which all types of capital are more equally divided over different communities here in the Osa. Creating more synchronicity and connection between people that live and visit the Osa and the beautiful biodiverse gems it offers us.
For this visit, we created a 3-day itinerary in which we visited different projects in the region started by locals and foreigners. Besides the projects, we also told stories about how the region is developing with regards to tourism, real estate and other elements. To give you a little insight in the experience we have written short stories about each day, starting with day 1 below. Not all the activities are described, however, if you want to know more about the full experience we offered, get in touch! We wish you a nice read :)
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Day 1: La palma, Guadalupe, la Tarde & Dos Brazos.
El martes 22 de marzo, se inició el recorrido en las instalaciones de Osa Coop ubicada en el pueblo de La Palma a 24 km norte del cantón de Puerto Jiménez, Provincia de Puntarenas.
Osa Coop fue creada hace 22 años, inicialmente integrada por 25 productores agrícolas y ganaderos, históricamente enfocados a la producción de palma aceitera.
Se creó para buscar soluciones en el transporte de la palma ya que contaban con una producción estable pero no tenían forma de hacerla llegar de manera efectiva y rentable a la planta de procesamiento.
Actualmente tienen 108 asociados, sus dos metas principales son: lograr la estabilidad económica de sus asociados y promover la sostenibilidad ambiental que permita mantener las condiciones ideales para la vida humana y la producción agrícola, a corto y largo plazo.
En los últimos años han tenido diversas amenazas; entre ellas, el ca
mbio climático, el aumento de los precios de insumos agrícolas y de los combustibles, así como, la inestabilidad del mercado de la palma aceitera. Debido a estos problemas la cooperativa se ha enfocado en buscar soluciones ambientalmente sostenibles, investigando y aplicando métodos como la diversificación de cultivos y el uso de insumos orgánicos en la producción de la palma así como el procesamiento de materia prima de diferentes cultivos para tener otras alternativas económicas. Al diversificar y asociar diferentes cultivos como cacao, vainilla, yuca y granos han logrado crear ecosistemas más saludables en sus fincas que no solo benefician sus suelos sino que crean corredores biológicos para aves y otros animales.
Esta cooperativa está sentando un precedente en la producción de palma a nivel nacional, y sus esfuerzos son parte de un cambio necesario para contrarrestar el daño causado al producir palma de manera convencional.
Su éxito y permanencia en el tiempo se deben a un sentido de comunidad que les permitió organizarse para buscar soluciones a sus problemas basándose en la unión y la cooperación, así como al interés en investigar nuevas formas de producción sostenible a gran escala.
Más tarde, ese día, visitamos el Proyecto 'La Cotinga' ubicado en el pueblo de Guadalupe, a 29 km norte de Puerto Jiménez.
El Proyecto ´´La Cotinga´´, actualmente cuenta con 40 hectáreas, que inicialmente eran destinadas a la producción ganadera; hace 2 años al inicio de la pandemia de Covid-19 fue rediseñada en un proyecto regenerativo que actualmente cuenta con una gran cantidad especies nativas de platanillas y árboles de la zona.
El proyecto está enfocado en la educación y la conciencia ambiental y, además une el arte con la naturaleza sensibilizando y educando a través de sus fotografías de la taxonomía de las plantas.
Para ellos es importante la conectividad entre las personas, la comunidad y diferentes disciplinas del conocimiento como el arte, las ciencias sociale s, la biología, el deporte entre otros. Su proyecto explora nuevas formas de llevar a cabo procesos regenerativos que son de gran importancia para atraer jóvenes a este tipo de iniciativas y así lograr un impacto cultural más profundo. Agradecemos a ambos proyectos por abrirnos la puerta y compartir un poco de su conocimiento y experiencia.
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On Tuesday, March 22, the tour started at the Osa Coop facilities. These are located in the town of La Palma, 24 km north of the canton of Puerto Jiménez, Province of Puntarenas.
Osa Coop was created 22 years ago, initially made up of 25 agricultural and livestock producers, historically focused on oil palm production.
It was created to find solutions in palm transportation since they had a stable production, but had no way of getting it to the processing plant effectively and profitably.
They currently have 108 associates. Their two main goals are: to achieve the economic stability of their associates and to promote environmental sustainability that allows maintaining ideal conditions for human life and agricultural production, in the short and long term.
In recent years they have been challenged in various ways such as, climate change, the increase in the prices of agricultural resources and fuels, as well as the instability of the palm oil market. Due to these problems, the cooperative has been focussing on finding environmentally sustainable solutions. What's their way of doing this? They do a lot of research and apply methods such as crop diversification, the use of organic inputs in palm production, as well as the processing of raw materials from different crops to have other alternatives economics. By diversifying and associating different crops such as cocoa, vanilla, cassava, and grains, they have managed to create healthier ecosystems on their farms. This ecosystem not only benefit their soils but also creates biological corridors for birds and other animals. With all their efforts, the cooperative is setting a precedent in palm production nationwide. Therefore, they are an important player in the Osa to create the necessary change to counteract the damage caused by conventional palm production.
Their success and permanence over time are due to the connection in the community that allowed them to organize themselves and seek solutions to their problems based on unity and cooperation. As well, it allowed them to pursue their interest in researching new forms of large-scale sustainable production.
Later that day, we visited the 'La Cotinga' Project located in the town of Guadalupe, 29 km north of Puerto Jiménez. The ´La Cotinga' Project currently has 40 hectares, which were initially intended for livestock production. 2 years ago at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was redesigned into a regenerative project focussing on conserving the native species growing in Costa Rica. The project is focused on education and environmental awareness and also unites art with nature, raising awareness and educating through its photographs of the taxonomy of plants.
For them, connectivity between people, the community, and different disciplines of knowledge such as art, social sciences, biology, and sports, among others, is important.
His project explores new ways of carrying out regenerative processes that are of great importance to attract young people to this type of initiative and thus achieve a deeper cultural impact.
We are so grateful that both projects opened their doors for us and shared some of their knowledge and experience!
Written by Sebastián